Serious Eater: A Food Lover’s Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption

Food writer turned entrepreneur Levine tells of how he launched the James Beard Award–winning website Serious Eats website at age 54 in this passionate personal business history. Levine found his calling while writing a book titled New York Eats on the best non-restaurant food in New York City; it sparked a mission to celebrate “even the cheapest and most common foods, like pizza and hot dogs.” When writing opportunities for him started to dwindle around 2006, he began blogging and soon launched Serious Eats in an attempt to educate food lovers and keep “deserving food purveyors’ dreams alive.” Levine excelled at attracting talented staff and writers (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Stella Parks among them) but struggled at first to run the business. He writes of an “insane thrill ride” through office robberies, failed buyouts, and family investments that put his personal relationships at stake. “We were changing the way people cooked and ate,” he writes. “We taught people to think critically about received wisdom in food science.” Foodies and tech junkies will tear through this fast-paced tale from a food-loving entrepreneur who changed the course of food media. (June)